Refinancing Could Benefit 3 in 4 Mortgage Holders

This morning’s announcement that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit a historic low increased the number of people who could both benefit from and likely qualify for a refinance. Research by Black Knight says 75% of mortgagors could benefit from refinancing.
 
Black Knight, a provider of software, data and analytics for mortgage and home equity lending and servicing, says there are now 19.3 million high-quality refinance candidates, the largest this population has ever been, and representing 43% of all 30-year mortgage-holders. High-quality refinance candidates are defined as those with credit scores 720 and higher.
 
Remove that eligibility criteria and there are 32.4 million 30-year mortgage-holders with rates 0.75% or more above the prevailing rate. Black Knight says that represents three out of every four homeowners with a 30-year mortgage.
 
The savings are fairly significant. Black Knight says the average homeowner would see a reduced mortgage payment of $299 monthly, an aggregate of $5.8 billion a month if all refinance candidates were to take advantage of the opportunity. That is the largest aggregate savings ever available through refinance.
 
Black Knight statistics show more than 7 million refi candidates could save at least $300/mo. Nearly 2.5 million could save $500 a month or more.